Family Matters
by Penny Shepard
Summary: Jenny decides to spend a girlie weekend with Penny, but what happens to start out as a relaxing weekend potentially ends in disaster for the two sisters.
1. Chapter 1

**Hi guys, t'is me again. OK so here's my next story. Please read and review.**

Aaaahhh the weekend. A time for chilling, shopping and spending time with family; and that was exactly what Penny and Jenny intended to do.

The last couple of months had been very hectic for the two sisters. Jenny was constantly busy in her role as director, and as a result she hadn't spent much time with Penny. She had also been spending a lot of her spare time with Gibbs. Their relationship had been going well since they had decided to give it another go, but they had agreed to take it slowly.

Penny enjoyed seeing her sister happy, although she was worried that she was over doing things and not taking enough time to herself. She was also feeling a bit gutted that she wasn't getting to spend as much time with her as she would have liked.

It was for that very reason that Jenny had suggested that they spend the weekend together. A lovely girlie weekend with the morning at a spa, then off for some shopping before sitting down to some home movies that their eldest sister Heather had found and posted from LA.

'Right Penelepops are you ready to go?' Jenny asked using the nickname she had christened Penny with as a small child.

'Yup, just gotta grab my purse.' Penny replied cheerfully.

Jenny stood in the hallway of their Georgetown house whilst Penny ran up the stairs to get her purse. She checked her reflection in the mirror and straitened the fuchsia pink, knee length, short sleeved dress she had on, and put a cream cardigan over the top. She looked up with a large smile when she saw Penny running down the stairs towards her.

The two sisters got in to Jenny's car as she drove them the twelve miles to the hotel in which they were going use the spa. Penny couldn't wait to get her neck, back and shoulder massage. Jenny on the other hand was looking forward to her pedicure.

After driving for nearly an hour Jenny finally pulled the car up outside the large hotel. It was cream on the outside with a gravel drive which was lined by trees.

'Wow Jen this place is amazing!' Penny exclaimed.

'Yeah, well that's one good thing about being director; my pay cheque can now afford this kind of place.' Jenny replied jokingly.

Penny laughed as she got out of the car, and the two women walked into the entrance of the hotel and down towards the spa.

'We have reservations for Shepard.' Jenny said as she announced their arrival.

'Of course, Director Shepard right?' The young receptionist asked.

'Yeah that's right.' Jenny replied, realising that she had asked Cynthia to make the reservations for them so would have booked them under director.

Penny and Jenny stayed in the spa for the whole morning before travelling back into DC to do some serious damage to their bank balances. They were now relaxed after their pampering, but were now in need of some retail therapy.

They went into one of Jenny's favourite designer shops and milled round the various different outfits. Penny picked up one dress that she liked the look of and held it against her as she looked at her reflection in the mirror. It was a black halter neck 1950's style dress, with red satin straps and bright red roses all over it. As she twirled round the price tag caught her eye; glancing at it she nearly fainted at the price before carefully putting the garment back.

'Dare I ask how much that was?' Jenny asked.

'Waaaaay above my pay cheque.' Penny replied as they headed towards the changing rooms to let Jenny try on some things.

One by one Jenny came out of the changing room wearing a different outfit, parading them in front of Penny for her approval.

'Ooo I love that one.' Penny said as Jenny appeared wearing a bright red halter neck dress similar to the one she had seen earlier.

'Do you think Gibbs will like it?' Jenny asked as she once again checked her reflection.

'To be honest I think Gibbs would like you in anything.' Penny replied with a smile.

Suitably happy with Penny's reply Jenny disappeared back inside the changing cubicle.

'So how you finding it in Gibbs's team?' Jenny's disembodied voice came over the curtain.

'I love it! They're a great team, if not a little dysfunctional. And Gibbs is great.' Penny explained with a smile.

'Yeah he's a little unorthodox but what he doesn't know isn't worth knowing.' Jenny replied as she reappeared from behind the curtain. 'Have you been Gibbs slapped yet?' She added.

'Nope.' Penny said a little smugly.

'Well you're lucky then.' Jenny said with a laugh.

'Hah does that mean you were then?' Penny asked as she laughed with her sister on their way to the till.

'Ooo quite a few times.' Came the reply.

As Jenny and Penny came out of the shop ladened with Jenny's new purchases, both of their stomachs gave loud, angry grumbles.

'Fancy grabbing something to eat?' Jenny asked.

'Hell yeah, I'm starving.' Penny stated.

They disappeared off into a quiet little side street where there were one or two little cafes, each with a few tables outside. Jenny left Penny sat at one table as she went in to order. Penny enjoyed spending time with Jenny; she really admired and looked up to her, and loved her more than anyone would ever understand.

Jenny had been there for Penny when no one else understood how she felt. When their Dad had died their Mom had fallen apart, and Penny had been distraught not only at the loss of their father, but with the torment of having been the first one to see his body. Jenny had always been a bit of a daddy's girl, but she would never forgive him for committing suicide with Penny in the house, knowing it was a possibility that she might have seen him like that.

After his death their mother Sarah almost had a nervous breakdown, meaning that Jenny had to step in to take care of Penny. Penny had had nightmares nearly every night after Jasper's death, and would wake up most nights screaming. Jenny was the one who would get up with her and would bring her into her room on occasion.

It was because of all of that that Penny really admired Jenny, and really looked up to her.

Once they had finished their lunch they did a little more shopping, with Penny buying some new boots and a couple of new tops, before heading home. They were exhausted when they got back to the house, but they felt happy with their day out.

They both flopped down onto the sofa in the downstairs living room and breathed a sigh of relief.

'Aw thanks for today Jen; I've really enjoyed myself.' Penny said.

'Yeah me too, we'll have to do it more often.' Jenny replied with a large smile. 'Right shall we put on these DVDs Heather sent us?' She added as she got up from the sofa and went to the DVD player.

Their eldest sister Heather had found a lot of old film footage from when they were children and teenagers, and had them transferred on to disc. They looked very professional, although they should since her husband worked in the film industry in LA, with a title on the opening screen and a menu with brief clips of each video.

They watched the first few DVDs, laughing at the sight of Jenny's first Christmas at a few months old, her first day at school and footage of Jenny, Heather and their parents Jasper and Sarah at the beach on vacation. The footage showed Jenny, aged about six, and Heather, aged about eight, burying their dad in the sand.

'Aw I wish I'd been around back then; it looks like you all had such great fun.' Penny said with a small pout. 'That is one of the down sides to having a nineteen and seventeen year age gap between the three of us; you two were already grown up by the time I arrived.' She added.

'Yeah but I got to see you grow up, and you were such a lovely child. And we had lots of fun too.' Jenny explained.

Turning their attentions back to the DVDs they moved on to the teenage years, and Jenny dressed as a cheerleader practicing for her team's performance.

Just as it ended Jenny decided to go into the kitchen to make them both a drink.

'Put the next one in but don't start without me.' Jenny ordered with a mock glare.

'Absolutely, Madam Director.' Penny replied, calling Jenny by the one thing she hated.

As Jenny disappeared in to the kitchen Penny placed the next DVD into the player, which took her to the menu. The first few times the clip went round in the background of the menu screen Penny didn't pay any attention to what it showed, but suddenly something caught her eye. Pressing play she could feel her heart pounding in her ears and her breath catching in her throat, surely she must be wrong and she hadn't seen what she thought.

She fast forwarded the film to the part she wanted to see. It had been filmed in May 1984, the month before she was born, and it looked like a family picnic or some sort of gathering. It showed Heather with her then boyfriend dancing and carrying on, before the camera panned round to show a very heavily pregnant Jenny.

Penny stopped and rewound the clip again a couple of times before pausing it and letting the information sink in. When she heard a noise behind her she turned round to find herself face to face with Jenny, who had clearly seen the clip as well.


	2. Chapter 2

Penny stood in the centre of the living room for a couple of minutes looking at Jenny with tears in her eyes. Jenny looked back at Penny also with tears in her eyes. Finally Jenny chose to break the silence, although not quite knowing what to say.

'Penny I'm so sorry, you were never supposed to find out like this.' She said quietly.

'I…I…I don't understand Jen.' Penny stammered quietly. 'Are you really my mom?' She added.

Jenny looked at Penny for a few seconds, attempting to find the words but none coming to mind. So instead of speaking she chose to simply nod her head in acknowledgement. Penny looked crest fallen as the tears trickled down her face.

'Penny I…' Jenny began to explain before being cut off by Penny.

'Don't!' She shouted, 'I don't want to hear it Jen.' She added as she brushed past her, grabbing her coat on the way past.

'Penny wait where are you going?' Jenny asked as Penny yanked open the front door and ran down the street into the rain.

As she watched Penny running off down the street she could feel her own tears running down her face, and she wasn't too sure what to do. Does she leave her to come back on her own? Or go after her? She closed the door and rested her head against the wood. She had never intended any of this to happen and she hated herself for letting it.

She stayed up past midnight waiting for Penny to come home, but when she didn't appear she began to get worried. She decided to go looking for her, but realised that she couldn't do it on her own. She got into her car and drove to the one person she trusted to help her.

Walking down the wooden stairs into the basement she could hear Gibbs sanding his boat. Normally she enjoyed watching him working, but on this occasion it didn't have the same comforting affect.

Gibbs looked up with a smile when he saw Jenny walking down towards him, but then frowned suddenly when he saw her tear stained face and saddened expression.

'Jen what's happened?' He asked caringly as he stroked her cheek with his thumb.

'I messed up Jethro, big time!' She said with a sob as he pulled her down on to the stairs.

'I'm sure it isn't anything that can't be fixed.' He said, trying to comfort her as she began to sob loudly once more.

'No Jethro you don't understand; it's about Penny. I've really, really hurt her and now I don't know where she is or how to fix this.' She explained.

'Well whatever's happened I'm sure she'll forgive you.' He reasoned.

'I don't think so Jethro, not this time.' Jenny replied.

'Well you gonna tell me about it?' Gibbs asked as he wiped more tears from her face.

'Penny…Penny isn't my sister Jethro, she's my daughter.' She explained.

Gibbs didn't look particularly surprised, which surprised Jenny.

'Why don't you seem surprised?' She asked.

'I knew there was something more about her that you weren't telling me, I just wasn't sure what.' Gibb s replied as he placed his arm around Jenny's shoulders and placed a kiss on her head. 'Do you want to talk about it?' He added.

'No, Penny needs to be the first one to hear this seeing as she's the one I've been lying to; but I've no idea where she is or even where to begin looking.' She replied.

'Well knowing Penny the first place to look I would say would be NCIS.' Gibbs said as he pulled Jenny up and towards the door.

He drove them both to NCIS headquarters in the hope of finding Penny sat at her desk, and Jenny was dismayed when the bullpen was empty. They were about to turn round and head out when Gibbs noticed two letters on his desk; one labelled "Gibbs" and the other labelled "Jenny".

Both took their letters in hand and read the contents. Jenny turned pale when she read hers, and the tears stung at her eyes once again.

_Dear Jenny_

_I need to put a bit of distance between us for a while to try and deal with how much you have hurt me._

_I've left my cell phone and credit cards here so that you can't trace me; I know that you would have asked McGee to look for me otherwise. Please don't try to find me._

_Penny_

There were no kisses or personal touches that Jenny was used to when receiving messages from Penny, and it hurt her to think that Penny might decide not to come back.

'Penny's put in for some emergency leave. She didn't say what it was for, but she has explained that she guessed you'll have come to me.' Gibbs said as he placed his hands on Jenny's shoulders.

'What if she doesn't come back Jethro?' Jenny whispered solemnly.

'She will be back once she's calmed down.' He replied. 'The best thing you can do is go home and get some rest.'

She nodded wearily as Gibbs guided her out of the office and back to his car. The drive back to Jenny's house was quiet; Jenny was too upset to say anything else, and Gibbs didn't know what to say.

Gibbs pulled the car up outside the Georgetown apartment and was already for heading off home when Jenny stopped him.

'You not gonna come in? There's no point going home, and I could do with the company.' She said.

Gibbs turned the engine off and walked with Jenny into the house. Jenny had a quick look around in case Penny had returned, but felt her heart break when there was no sign. She was going to stay up for a while, but Gibbs forced her to bed. He knew Penny wasn't going to be back anytime soon and Jenny was going to need all the rest she could get.

Across town Penny sat at the bus station waiting for her bus to arrive. She'd taken out enough cash from her bank account to last her a couple of weeks and to take her to…well she wasn't exactly sure where she was going to go, all she knew was that she couldn't face Jen right at that moment in time.

The tears stung at her eyes once more as she thought about Jenny; she couldn't believe how she had lied to her, the one person she trusted most in the world had betrayed her more than she could have thought.

Just as the day was beginning to get light the bus pulled into its bay. The driver got off to take peoples bags and put them underneath in the baggage hold. Penny got straight on to the bus and walked to the back, wanting nothing more than to be alone with her thoughts.

As the bus pulled out of the bus station, Penny rested her forehead against the cool glass of the window beside her. She watched for a while as the DC buildings changed in to countryside, with no buildings around for miles.

Finally, after a very long night, Penny closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep, the images of Jenny and the video still fresh in her mind.


	3. Chapter 3

On Monday morning Jenny arrived at her office dressed in a black, pin-striped trouser suit. She walked past Cynthia's desk and smiled curtly at her PA.

'Good morning Director.' Cynthia greeted.

'Morning Cynthia.' Jenny replied, forcing a smile.

Unfortunately she wasn't in the mood for smiling or even really talking to anyone. If she was honest she didn't even want to be in work, which was a first for her seeing as she loved her job; on this occasion she wanted nothing more than to be at home waiting for Penny, but Gibbs had told her to go to work and act as normal as possible because they didn't know how long Penny was going to be away for. Jenny knew he was right, but it didn't exactly make her feel any better.

Downstairs in the bullpen Tony sat at his desk throwing balled up bits of paper into McGee's waste paper basket.

Tony, McGee and Ziva sat and discussed Penny's whereabouts. It was half past seven and she was late, but Penny was never late.

'Well I haven't seen the director yet either, maybe they've taken a vacation?' McGee suggested.

'Nah McGoo, I saw Jenny and Gibbs arriving first thing, and if I'm honest she didn't seem her usual self.' Tony said as he tossed another ball of paper at the bin but hitting McGee instead.

At that moment Gibbs walked into the bullpen, causing immediate action by the team. After a few minutes of looking at Ziva with the occasional glare and nod towards Gibbs, resulting in the same look and reaction from Ziva, Tony plucked up the courage to ask Gibbs about Penny.

'Err boss…we were just wondering if you knew where Penny was? Only she's not come in yet and…well we're a little concerned.' Tony said.

'Well don't be DiNozzo; she's just decided to take a little vacation time.' Gibbs replied as he sat behind his own desk.

Down in Abby's lab Abby was busy working away, heavy rock music blaring from the stereo in the corner of the next room, when her mobile began to ring.

'Hello, Abby Sciuto forensic scientist extraordinaire.' She answered cheerfully.

Abby heard the caller on the other side giggle before they replied.

'Hey Abs it's Penny.' Penny said.

'Hey Pennla how are you?' Abby said cheerfully with recognition.

'I've been better Abs but that's kind of why I'm calling. I can't exactly go into details but I just wanted to ask a small favour of you. Could you keep an eye on Jen for me? We had a sort of fight and I've gone away for a little while.' Penny explained as she called from a phone box on the street.

'Sure Penny, but where are you?' Abby asked with concern.

'I'm not going to say because if I tell you and Jenny finds out I've spoken to you she'll only bug you to find out where I am, and I don't want her to know just yet. So if she asks you won't be lying when you say you don't know.' Replied Penny.

'Um…Ok but are you at least somewhere safe?' Abby asked.

'Yeah I'm in a nice hotel so don't worry, I'll be fine OK?' Penny said comfortingly.

'OK Penny just keep safe alright? And if you need anything just give me a shout.' Abby said before they both hung up.

Although Penny had expressed that she didn't want Jenny knowing where she was, she hadn't told her not to tell Jenny that she had called. Leaving her lab Abby took the elevator up to the top floor and walked to Jenny's office. Abby was surprised to see that Jenny was not sat behind her desk as usual, but was instead standing by the window staring into the distance.

'Um…Director?' Abby said.

'Yeah Abby?' Jenny replied without turning from the window.

'Um…I just thought you might like to know then Penny's called.' Abby explained.

Jenny turned round quickly to face the young Goth.

'Oh thank God! Is she OK? Has she said where she is or when she's coming home?' Jenny rattled off her list of questions.

'She hasn't said where she is, but she was asking after you and wanted to make sure you were OK. She sounded upset but she said that she was safe.' Abby said.

Jenny breathed a slight sigh of relief that Penny was OK, but she wanted her to come home desperately.

'If she calls again will you let her know I'm sorry and that I want her to come home?' Jenny replied desperately.

'I will do Jenny. It'll be OK.' Abby said comfortingly, resulting in a weak smile from Jenny.

Elsewhere, Penny sat in her hotel room staring at the traffic out of the window. She was still reeling from the revelations of the weekend. Although she was feeling home sick, she couldn't face going back home yet.

Having brought nothing with her she realised she was going to have to go out and get a few things to keep her going. Grabbing her coat and bag she headed out to hit the New York streets.

Whilst wondering down towards the harbour Penny heard a commotion, like a fight of some sort. As she continued to walk she noticed a young man run past her, and then about a hundred yards further down in an alleyway, she saw the body of another young man. Her instincts took over and she immediately ran towards the end of the alleyway, checking the body for a pulse but couldn't find one.

She checked the body for identification, and found a naval ID card in his wallet.

'Great, just great. I try to get away from NCIS and you turn up Petty Officer Messer.' Penny said before stopping suddenly. 'And now I'm talking to dead people, I think I've spent too much time with Ducky.' She added with a smirk.

Penny went to grab her phone from her pocket, but then remembered that she had left it back at NCIS. She began walking back into the street in search of a pay phone when she saw two NYPD officers coming towards her.

'Excuse me officers?' She said as she called them over. 'There's a body of a sailor in that alleyway, and the suspect ran off in that direction.' She explained.

'OK Mam, are you hurt at all?' The female officer asked.

'No, no, not at all. I arrived seconds after the victim was stabbed. But we need to secure the crime scene and contact NCIS.' She said.

'NCIS?' The male officer asked.

Penny rolled her eyes, DiNozzo was right you never did quite get used to people asking. She reached into her pocket and pulled out her NCIS identification bad.

'Naval Criminal Investigative Service; I'm a federal agent and since the victim was a naval officer he falls into our jurisdiction. Would you mind if I borrowed your phone a moment?' She explained before borrowing one of the officer's cell phones.

She dialled the NCIS number and was answered by the switchboard.

'Good afternoon, NCIS switchboard who can I patch you through to?' The female voice replied.

'This is Special Agent Shepard; can you please put me through to Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs?' She said.

After a few minutes she heard Gibbs' gruff voice as he answered the phone.

'Gibbs.' He answered.

'Gibbs it's Penny.' Penny replied.

Gibbs looked furtively at his team who were quietly working on their case files, and then up the stairs at the catwalk, thankful not to see Jenny. He walked from behind his desk to the back of the staircase.

'Do you care to tell me where you are?' He asked, a slightly concerned tone to his voice.

'I'm in New York Gibbs, and I have a little situation. I've found the body of a Naval Petty Officer; local LEO's are at the scene cordoning it off, but I've taken control of the investigation under our jurisdiction.' She explained.

'Right Penny, we'll be right there.' Gibbs said as he hung up.

He couldn't help feel relieved that Penny was alright, but he couldn't tell Jenny where she was just yet. He knew that if he told her she would want to drop everything to join them at the scene, which could compromise the investigation and the missions that Jenny was supposed to be working on.

He walked back into the bullpen and grabbed his gun from the top drawer of his desk.

'Gear up! Dead body of a Naval Officer in New York.' He said.

Each team member grabbed their bags and their guns from their desks, McGee stopping briefly to phone Ducky.

The four agents drove the four and a half hours to New York, closely followed by Ducky and Palmer in the van. They finally pulled up outside the entrance to the alleyway, and Gibbs was approached first by Penny.

'Hey Gibbs.' Penny greeted warmly, only to be met by a not so warm look from Gibbs.

'What you got Shepard?' He asked in his usual irritable tone.

'Well I was walking down this street here when I heard some sort of altercation. A young guy, mid to late twenties, short dark brown hair, with a tattoo on his neck ran past me in that direction.' Penny explained as she pointed in the direction the suspect had run in.

'OK; DiNozzo crime scene photos, McGee bag and tag any evidence you find and Ziva I want you to collect witness statements.' Gibbs ordered his agents, not taking his eyes off Penny.

'Right well seeing as you've obviously got everything covered now I'm going to leave you to it.' Penny said awkwardly as she turned to head away.

'Not so fast Penny; you and I are going to have a little chat.' Gibbs replied as he placed his arm around her shoulders and walked her away from the scene.

They walked beside the bay, neither saying anything at first before Gibbs finally broke the silence.

'Everyone's been rather worried about you Penny; especially Jenny.' Gibbs explained.

'Uh huh.' Penny replied after a few minutes hesitation.

'You need to call her Penny, but better than that you could go home.' Gibbs said as he stopped dead in his tracks and pulled Penny round to face him.

'Gibbs…I can't.' Penny stammered as she fought back her tears. 'Did she tell you…?' She added as a single tear rolled down her cheek.

'Yeah she did; and if it makes you feel any better, she isn't taking any pleasure any of this, or the fact that she lied to you.' Gibbs explained as he hugged Penny tightly.

'I know that Gibbs, and I'm not taking any pleasure in not talking to her or having run away. But I just can't face her right now.' Penny replied. 'I'm not coming home for a couple of days at least, but will you look after Jen for me; after all I do still care.'

'OK.' Gibbs replied simply before smirking at her. 'You know anywhere around here that does decent coffee?' He asked.

Penny gave a small laugh before walking three blocks to the nearest coffee shop where Gibbs bought them both a coffee, which Penny accepted greafully.


	4. Chapter 4

'So what do you think is going on with Penny? I mean she takes sudden vacation time and then suddenly turns up in New York at our crime scene.' Tony said with genuine concern.

'I do not know Tony, but she didn't seem her usual self; neither did Gibbs for that matter.' Ziva replied.

'Yeah there's definitely something that they're not telling us; but you know Gibbs if he wants us to know he'll tell us.' McGee added.

Penny and Gibbs walked towards them and their conversation was stopped dead.

'Ah Penelope good to see you my dear.' Ducky said as he appeared from the alleyway and warmly hugged the young agent.

'Good to see you Duckmeister.' Penny replied as she hugged him back, using the nickname she had affectionately christened Ducky with.

'Are you going to be investigating this case?' Ducky asked.

'Err…no, no I'm going back to my vacation, but I'll be back to NCIS soon. Sounds like you guys are going to be around for a while anyway.' Penny explained. 'Right guys I'm gonna get back to my hotel. I'll see you all later.' She said as she headed off down the street.

'Right what've we got?' Gibbs asked his team before him.

A few days later, back at NCIS, Jenny sat in MTAC watching the large screen, where she had been pretty much since Penny had left. She still hadn't heard anything from Penny and it had now been nearly a week.

She had turned to work to try and block out the pain and worry she felt, only it just seemed to add to it rather than help it.

She had been working off a tip off that there was going to be an attempt on someone's life at a government and agency ball being held in a couple of days' time. She was supposed to go, giving that she is the NCIS director, but she didn't feel up to it since Penny had not yet returned and she still had no idea where she was. She did not particularly feel up to being sociable.

Whilst she was staring at the screen before her Gibbs appeared at her side, placing a comforting kiss on her cheek.

'You staring at pictures of our enemies in the dark again Jen?' He asked with a mischievous smirk.

Jenny gave a small smile back as photographs of various terrorist suspects appeared on the screen before her.

'One of these, if not more, are planning to take out at least one member of either the government or a government agency director.' She explained whilst attempting to stifle a yawn.

'You need to get some sleep Jen, you look exhausted.' Gibbs said quietly.

'I'm fine Jethro; nothing a little coffee won't fix. When did you get back from New York anyway?' She asked, trying to divert his attention.

'About forty minutes ago.' Gibbs replied before pressing the subject of her exhaustion again. 'It was a tiring four and a half hours, could do with an early night.'

Jenny gave him her best attempt at his famous "Gibbs stare" which didn't really have any affect.

'Come on Jen you're going to make yourself ill.' He added caringly.

'I can't Jethro; every time I close my eyes I see her face. She looked so hurt and so upset. And if that doesn't keep me awake then the worry I feel does. I just want her back so that I can tell her how sorry I am.' Jenny explained as a single tear rolled down her face.

'It's alright Jen, she already knows.' Penny said as she walked down the gangway into MTAC.

'Penny?' Jenny exclaimed as she leapt up from her seat.

'Hey Jen.' Penny replied simply before walking towards Jenny.

Jenny grabbed her in a tight hug, happy to feel her close to her once more. Her tears ran down her face freely, and she felt her shoulder getting wet as Penny released all of tears too. After a few minutes they released each other, and Jenny cupped Penny's face in her hands.

'Don't you ever do that to me again.' She said as she pulled her in for another hug.

Gibbs watched for a few moments before getting up from where he was sat to give them some privacy.

'I'll be downstairs if you need me.' He said as placed a hand on Jenny's shoulder.

They both gave him a weak smile before turning their attention back to each other.

'Where've you been?' Jenny asked as she looked at Penny's eyes and loving stroked her hair.

'I went to New York. Ended up bumping in to Gibbs and the guys; and before you say anything he was under very strict instructions not to say anything to you.' Penny explained and interrupted Jenny before she could interrupt her.

Jenny pulled Penny down towards the seats before she continued. She had rehearsed what she was going to say in her head many times over the last week, but now it came to it she couldn't remember anything that she had wanted to say. Except for one thing.

'Penny I am so sorry, I never meant to hurt you.' Jenny explained as calmly as she could manage.

'Jen…' Penny began before stopping suddenly and then smirked. 'Never apologise, it's a sign of weakness.' She said finally and successfully made Jenny laugh. 'I know I shouldn't have left like that, or at least I should have called, but I couldn't face you. This has really hurt me Jen, but it's not the fact that you're my mom that's done it, it's the fact that you lied to me.' Penny explained as she fought back her tears.

'I know, I know and I'm really sorry, weakness or not.' Jenny said with a small smile and was relieved to be greeted with a small smile back. 'I never wanted you to find out like that…'

'But you wanted me to find out?' Penny interrupted.

'I always wanted you to find out, but Mom never did.' Jenny replied.

'So you gonna tell me what happened?' Penny asked as she prepared herself for the truth.

Jenny braced herself for the conversation before beginning her explanation.

'It happened whilst I was in my senior year at school. This guy had moved into the area from San Francisco and was in some of my classes, and he was so lovely.' Jenny explained with a slightly glazed over look as she recalled some painful memories. 'We started dating and realised we had a lot in common. His dad was also a colonel in the army and he'd spent his whole childhood moving round the country.' Jenny took a deep breath before continuing, but was then interrupted by Penny.

'What was his name?' She asked quietly.

'Danny Green. He was on the school football team, basketball, baseball you name it; but he was bright too.' Jenny replied fondly.

'So what happened when he found out you were pregnant?' Penny asked sadly.

'It came as a massive shock, which doesn't mean I regret anything because I don't; I just wish things had been different for us. Danny was less from happy, demanded that I had termination…which I obviously didn't have.' Jenny explained as the tears sprung to eyes again.

She looked at Penny and smiled slightly, stroking her short red hair. She was thankful that she looked more like her thank her biological father.

'When I came home and told Mom and Dad I was pregnant they flipped. They were concerned about what people might say. Dad had just started at the Pentagon and Mom was lecturing at the university and was up for promotion. They kept the pregnancy secret and I was home schooled for a while, so no one knew about you. Danny didn't want to know after that, I think he assumed I'd gone through with the termination; Mom and Dad wanted me to give you up for adoption, but me, I wanted nothing more than to keep you and I want you to know that Penny. When you were born I couldn't go through with giving you up to some stranger, so Mom and Dad decided to take you and raise you.' Jenny explained before breaking off.

Penny sat silently trying to take everything in.

'Wow, Jen I'm so sorry. I never realised. I thought maybe it was because I didn't fit into your "five point plan"' Penny said as she made speech marks with her fingers.

'It was never like that Penny I swear.' Jenny said quickly.

'Yeah but if you'd kept me then you'd probably never have gotten to wear you are today.' Penny replied.

'You're probably right, but I would give all of this up in a heartbeat if I could change things. I never wanted to lie to you and it's been the hardest thing I've ever had to do.' Jenny said as she held out her arms to Penny and held her tightly.

Penny and Jenny sat in MTAC all night chatting. They talked about everything before drifting off to sleep in the early hours of the morning. Although they didn't look particularly comfortable in the seats, it was the best night's sleep either of them had had in a week.


	5. Chapter 5

At about five o'clock the next morning Gibbs woke at his desk. He felt stiff and a little achy after falling asleep in his chair. He realised that he hadn't seen Jen or Penny all night, so he thought he'd go and check on them.

He walked up the stairs and went straight into Jenny's office and was confused when he didn't see them, but then realised they may not have left MTAC. Walking in to the secured room he saw the pair of them huddled together next to each other in the chairs on the front row.

With a small smile he walked over to Jenny and gently shook her awake. She looked up at him blearily and then down at Penny, who was still hard and fast asleep.

'So how'd it go?' He asked in hushed tones as he tilted his head in Penny's direction.

'OK I guess. She took it better than I thought she would.' Jenny replied in equally hushed tones.

'Yeah well Penny seems a pretty level headed person, I think she just needed time to think things through.' Gibbs said as he wrapped his arms around Jenny's waist and pulled her towards him when she stood up.

'Thank you for looking after her in New York. She told me that you all stayed with her in the same hotel during your investigation. And don't worry; I understand that you didn't want to betray a confidence. I'm just glad she was able to talk to someone.' Jenny explained with a smile.

Standing on her tiptoes Jenny cupped Gibbs's face in her hands and kissed him passionately. With every second they kissed she felt more comfort and relief than she had in a long time. They pulled away quickly when they were interrupted…

'You guys really should get a room.' Penny said sleepily with her eyes still closed and pulling her knees up to her chest.

Gibbs and Jenny looked at each other and laughed before Penny felt a very gentle tap to the back of her head. Her eyes sprang open in surprise as she looked at Gibbs, but she couldn't help but laugh.

'So what are going to tell the team? I mean about you two. They know something is up and they're all concerned.' Gibbs explained, still holding on tightly to Jenny who had curled herself up into his side.

'Well Jethro I've kept this secret for long enough, it's about time it was brought out into the open. That is if you want it to Penny?' Jenny said.

'Absolutely.' Penny replied brightly.

That evening the whole team, including Ducky, Jimmy and Abby, went into town for a meal. The restaurant had given them a private room, used to catering for the director, and a private bar at the far end.

It was the first time they'd been out privately as a team with the director, and it felt rather alien to them all and yet very relaxed at the same time.

Jenny and Gibbs sat next to each other, with Ziva and Tony sat on Gibbs's right hand side. On Jenny's left sat Penny and McGee. Abby, Ducky and Jimmy sat opposite. Everyone was engrossed in conversation with each other and they were enjoying each other's company outside of work.

Finally Jenny decided it was time to explain her new found situation with Penny in between the main course and pudding. She wasn't entirely sure how she was going to explain this but she knew it was the right thing to do.

'OK guys there's a reason that I arranged this little get together this evening, as Penny and I have something that we'd like to share with you all, and to clarify a few things.' Jenny began to explain.

Penny held Jenny's hand under the table and gave it a very gentle squeeze, with Gibbs doing the same to Jenny's right knee. She felt relieved to have them both there with her, making the situation a little easier.

'I appreciate that you have had a few questions regarding Penny's recent absence, and I know there were quite a few rumours flying round. The truth is Penny isn't my sister, she's my daughter.' She explained bluntly and there were a couple of gasps from around the table. 'I know you'll have many questions about it, but all you really need to know is that I was seventeen when I had her and my parents made the decision to bring her up instead of me.' She added.

'Wow, bet that was a bit of a shock huh Penny?' Tony said before receiving a Gibbs slap to the back of the head. 'Sorry Boss.'

Jenny felt a lot better once her secret was out in the open, but most of all that the most important person in her life now knew the truth. She wasn't entirely sure how this was going to affect her relationship with Penny, or indeed where they went from here, but she knew that she had her NCIS family around her. She was also pleased to say that she had Gibbs's support and love to help her through as well, which gave her more strength and courage than anything else.

'Actually whilst we're admitting secrets,' Gibbs began, which caused a complete silence amongst the team, none of them quite sure what was coming, 'this is probably a good time to tell you all that Jenny and I are seeing each other.' He explained.

The team sat in silence, with Abby and Penny looking at each other with a massive smirk on their faces, again no one quite so sure what to say.

'I thought you had a rule against that Boss?' Tony said.

'Rule number twelve right? Never date a co-worker.' Ziva added.

'Yeah but I also have a rule fifty-one, sometimes you're wrong.' Gibbs replied earnestly.

Tony and Ziva looked at each other mischievously, and Gibbs noted the look. He'd realised for some time that there was a distinct air of sexual tension between the two, and now realised that it was only a matter of time before they would end up together.

The whole team stayed late into the night, laughing and carrying on. They all got to see a different side to each other and they liked this change in relationship. One thing was for sure, the relationships at NCIS were never going to be the same, but they all had to admit that it was a good thing.

**Thanks guys I hope you enjoyed the story, next one coming soon will be a little more light hearted, so please stay tuned.**


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